Bluepulse Week 2017
by EmbraceSadness
Summary: Day 5- Power Swap AU. Some backstory on the switching of two powers and a first kiss that has long been awaited... (Written for Bluepulse Week 2017. Next prompt: Rumours.)
1. Out Of This World

Day 1 - Stargazing

 _(Hello. So, it's probably been over a year since I've used this account or wrote anything that I actually put online. I've had a bit of a rough year in terms of writing, but I won't try to make up excuses because I did leave for a really long time and it probably sucked for the people who read my stories. So if anybody who reads any of my other stories is reading this, I am hoping to get back into writing with this process. It helped me get back into it last year._

 _ANYWAYS! :D On a brighter note, I wanted to do something other than the classic "looking at the stars, they're so bright, but they're nothing compared to you, kisses" scene. Not to say that it's not excellent, but it seems as though a lot of other people have already done it and it gets repetitive._

 _Also, YES, I AM aware that I broke most of the rules of science during this, but to be fair, it's an AU, so aliens can live on distant stars because it's not too hot for them and telescopes have SUPER ZOOM and nobody can tell me otherwise. ;P_

 _Anyhow, this one is a little less bluepulsey. Just a warm up. Hoping tomorrow gets even better! Enjoy to anyone who us reading. And sorry for the long ass author note. O.o)_

* * *

When Grandpa Barry buys him a telescope, Bart is disappointed. Well…not completely. It's just that he was expecting the latest Call Of Duty video game and when he doesn't receive it he feels that wave of disappointment he is so familiar with wash over him.

They're all sitting in the living room; Grandma Iris, Grandpa Barry and himself, all staring silently at this simplistic piece of technology. Grandpa Barry then turns to him. Bart attempts to wince subtly. He isn't sure whether or not he succeeds at it.

"So, kid. How do you like it?"

Bart forces a smile. Grandma Iris smiles as well, though Bart's pretty sure he can see traces of sympathy hidden within her eyes.

"I love it."

Except he doesn't. At least, right away.

* * *

Bart pays it no mind at first.

The stupid piece of junk sits in the corner of his room for weeks on end. Bart is really good at ignoring things, but even cobwebs in the corner are easy to get stuck in.

Every so often, he'll turn over in bed and see the damned out of the corner of his eye. He'll cover his face with a pillow and groan.

"Dumbass telescope."

Of course it really wasn't. Telescopes can't be dumbasses. They're inanimate objects. Everybody knows this. Even Bart himself. However, that doesn't stop the feelings of resentment from bubbling up.

He should be used to it by now, though.

It's never been easy having a Forensic Scientist for a grandfather.

* * *

When he's eight his father dies in the freak show accident to end all freak show accidents. A governmental study gone wrong. It seems to Bart that all Allen men fall victim to the charm and power of science.

He tries not to think about it too much.

Not long after can his mother can no longer handle the pressure. She runs off with another man who gets her pregnant shortly after the death of his father. She forges a new life and forces herself to forget everything about her old one; including her own son.

Again, he tries not to think about it.

Barry and Iris are nice enough anyways. Young, but nice. It reminds him of how young his parents were when they had him. How young he is.

When he's ten he impresses his entire fifth grade class by successfully completing an individual frog dissection lab without any help from any of the teachers present. He doesn't even show the slightest signs of being sick.

He tells his teacher that his grandfather's been teaching him about dissections since he was nine.

Four of the bigger boys give him a black eye in the hallway after class.

* * *

Barry finally teaches him how to use the telescope.

Bart understands the concept after the first fifteen minutes, but spends the next forty-five listening to the older man go on and on and _on_ about the wonders of astronomy and how every constellation has a story behind it and how there are about a billion galaxies in the universe and blah blah blah blah _blah_.

They're just big balls of gas in the sky. Who fucking cares?

When he finally leaves (with the announcement that dinner will be ready in the next half hour), Bart pushes the telescope away from the window. He blinks twice and swallows once.

One foot then the other, he climbs up onto the ledge. He stares down more than up, because to him the ground is more interesting than the sky. And how fucking cool are rocks? Except nobody but geologists ever wants to talk about them.

No. Everybody always talks about how great and big the entire galaxy or the entire universe is compared to our world. Our planet. It doesn't change the fact that life isn't up in the clouds, but down here on earth.

But if life is so down to earth, then why concern yourself with things out of this world?

* * *

It's seven past midnight on a Tuesday night when Bart finds himself staring blatantly at the motherfucking telescope of all things.

He blames it on lack of sleep. He blames it on the scary shadows objects manage to cast.

He blames it on the entire fucking galaxy.

Bart sits up and cries a bit in bed. He then curses his rotten luck for having ended up with a Forensic Scientist for a grandfather.

Then he gets up out of bed and sets up his telescope.

* * *

Millions of stars patter across the universe, some named, most not. A constellation of galaxies all connected like pieces in a puzzle that somehow all manage to fit in perfectly together. Look in closer and it's easy to see these galaxies in more detail. The planets that fill the Milky Way to the brim. The billions of stars that that light up the vast darkness of space. Each and every one manage to shine; to twinkle.

Who cares, Bart tells himself, they're just big balls of gas in the sky.

One of the exploding balls of gas fizzles out and shoots across the sky like a bullet. One star in particular catches Bart's eye. There almost seems to be a smudged, shadowy figure on it. Bart narrows his eyes.

And what the hell is that?

* * *

He switches the lens on the telescope so he can enlarge the image and focus it on more minute details. Barry got him one of those super-detailed telescopes that cost a thousand dollars to order plus three dollars for shipping.

A thousand and three dollars for a cobweb holder. Who cares?

He grows more and more frantic as he attempts to focus the damned image. Things are still extremely blurry, but he's pretty sure he's blowing up the picture the way he wants it to be blown up.

His fingers begin to cramp up. And this is definitely a waste of time, he chastises himself.

He keeps adjusting the knob until he finally finds what he's looking for.

* * *

He doesn't believe his eyes at first.

Right in front of him is another living being.

No, he attempts to reason. No, that's not possible. It is literally impossible for life outside of earth to exist. Extraterrestrials don't exist. Aliens don't exist. They _don't_. Hell, was it even possible for a telescope to focus that much? Could this image be any clearer? Now way, he thinks. None of this is real. It's just some crazy dream. _REM_ sleep is fucking weird sometimes, right?

Yet, there's the proof, staring him right back in the face. Sitting up on a star that is most probably light years away, a boy not much older than himself is stirring. He stares back at Bart through his own telescope. He clearly sees Bart as he grins, steps back from his scope and does this adorably, stupid little dance. He waves.

No no no. There's no way.

Bart waves softly and unsurely. He takes in the other boy's physical status. A well toned chest and muscle build, though lanky and long arms that almost don't even fit him. Dark, chocolate skin with blue and black patterns running up and down his arms, legs and torso. Dark, blackish hair cut way too short along with these big, beautiful brown eyes. He's completely naked, covered with bumps and different swirls and patterns. Like something out of a fucking Science Fiction movie.

The boy looks back through his telescope and smiles at Bart with the flashiest, whitest teeth he's ever seen.

...A real life alien.

* * *

Who cares, Bart tells himself, but realizes with a growing horror that he does.

* * *

But for some reason when Bart looks at this alien, all he sees is a person. And for some reason, this person interests him in a way that none other has.

Bart steps up onto the window ledge, one foot then the other. Looking up for the first time in a long time. And he thinks he's finally found something to keep him on the edge.

Because how fucking cool are aliens, right? And this one is so pretty that Bart can feel his face flush and is almost afraid the boy can see it too from light years away.

He smiles back even though his teeth aren't as white. Even though his smile is not on the stand all that often.

He stands up on his tiptoes and reaches his hands towards the sky.

Because, he guesses, even the stars are pretty from light years away.

And sometimes you really do manage find something that's out of this world.


	2. Crying Tears Of Joy

For today's prompt of "pride", I drew the cover image for this story. You can go see it in a better resolution under my AO3 account of the same name. I wrote a blurb of writing that I may add to this later as a backstory behind the image.


	3. UltraJumboHalloweenVarietyChocolatePACK

Admittedly, Bart didn't exactly think this one out.

Then again, he reminded himself, when had he ever thought anything out in his life? He was pretty sure that from the moment he'd been born he'd been an impulse, out of control personality. How was he supposed to control his life when he'd never has a regular sense of "normalness", anyways?

That's right. It wasn't his fault.

He told himself this as he rushed into the nearest Target to buy last minute Halloween candy. And when he said last minute, he _meant_ last minute. Like, it was actually four in the afternoon on October thirty-first.

...Oops.

Bart looked through the aisles and huffed in annoyance when he saw there were no more bags left. How annoying. Jay and Joan were _not_ going to be pleased. He sighed, pushing his hair out of his eyes at an awkward angle so that people would notice him. He did it to be annoying in class, but the habit had managed to stick.

Double oops, he supposed.

Out of the corner of his eye, something seemed to flash. Bart whipped around and his jaw hit the floor. There, in the masses of crazed Halloween obsessed maniacs looking for last minute costumes or decorations for a party, was the final bag of the "Ultra Jumbo Halloween Variety Chocolate Pack."

What a moment to be alive.

Bart began to walk towards the bag calmly. However, he noticed another guy (probably around his age) walking in the same, general direction from across the aisle on the opposite end. They both narrowed their eyes at the same time. The dude walked a little faster. Bart began to speed hop towards this "Ultra Jumbo Halloween Variety Chocolate Pack."

They eventually both took off in a full-out run, Bart letting a vicious battle cry rip and Dude grunting in an effort to get to the bag before Bart. They both reached the bag at the same time, grabbing it harshly.

For a fleeting second, Bart could feel Dude's hand touch his and it actually felt sort of…nice. It was all warm and tingly. He felt as though he were floating.

He fell back to harsh reality pretty quickly though, as he and Dude crashed into one another at an alarming rate. Bart let out an "oomph" as he felt the Dude's knee crash into his esophagus.

 _'Hello acid reflux, my old friend. I've come to talk with you again.'_

He had the weirdest thoughts when he was in pain, Bart was thinking to himself, but quickly turned his attention back to Dude who was still holding on to his "Ultra Jumbo Halloween Variety Chocolate Pack."

Stupid dude.

He hadn't realized he had accidently voiced this particular thought until Dude glared at him angrily and muttered something in...was that Spanish? He was pretty sure that was Spanish.

Bart mustered a glare back, but failed pretty horribly. His friends told him he was too cute to pull of a glare.

"That's my bag of chocolates." he spoke matter-of-factly.

Dude huffed. "Doesn't have your name on it."

Bart gritted his teeth together. "Well, I could pull a pen _out of my ass-"_

"I don't think you can store pens up there."

"Just let go of my Ultra Jumbo Halloween Variety Chocolate Pack, man!" Bart cried out, tugging at the bag and then wincing because of the pressure it put on his chest. Dude just held on even tighter. They began to play tug-a-war with this bag of freaking chocolates as the dialogue continued.

"If I don't get this home to my parents," Dude was saying, "They will kill me!"

"Big whoop!" Bart retorted, "My cousin Wally will force me to babysit for his girlfriend's niece again! She literally pulled a fucking Houdini on me last time I was tasked with "watching" her. More like she was watching me... _from the windowsill."_

"I have a little sister who might as well have ADHD." Dude continued on, "She is a fate worse than death. Literally. Just her alone."

"At least she doesn't just _"poof, and she's gone!"_ away from you in the middle of a _Star Trek_ marathon!"

"Yeah, no, you're right. She disappeared that one time it in the middle of _Star Wars IV: A New Hope_ , didn't she?"

"DUDE, I NEED THE FUCKING CANDY."

"GIVE ME THE CHOCOLATES OR PREPARE TO FACE A FATE WORSE THAN DEATH!"

"FUNNY, I DON'T SEE YOUR LITTLE SISTER ANYWHERE."

"I WILL BRING HER TO YOU."

"I WILL FIGHT YOU, THIS IS THE LAST MOTHERFUCKING BAG IN THIS ENTIRE STORE!"

"THEN GO TO ANOTHER STORE!"

" _YOU_ GO TO ANOTHER STORE, _ASSHAT!_ "

Dude let out a cry of defeat before shoving the bag towards Bart. They'd been full on yelling, so they had the attention of the entire store. Dude kicked at the floor.

"Fine! Whatever! I'll just go to another store!"

 _"Good luck with that…"_ Bart mumbled under his breath, but because he'd won this particular battle he didn't say anything else other than that. Dude stormed out of the store pretty quickly after that. Bart looked at his watch. It was seventeen after four. He still had about a half hour to get home.

He was kicked out of the store after that for not showing the proper "etiquette in a public facility."

"I'll show you proper etiquette..." Bart grumbled the entire way home, snacking on some of the chocolates in the bag.

* * *

At least forty kids had come and gone from his house, taking most of his candy with them as they went, before he received the fated knock on his door. Bart swallowed the remaining Snickers in his mouth, adjusted his "I AM MYSELF FOR HALLOWEEN TO SHOW THE MONSTER INSIDE ME" sweatshirt and opened the door.

It was one kid this time around. A younger girl who could be maybe seven dressed to the literal brim in the pinkest princess dress he'd ever seen before in his life. She grinned a gap-toothed grin.

"Trick or Treat!" she cried out with a slight accent. Bart grinned ferociously. Just how precious could one be?

"Well aren't you the cutest little thing I've ever-"

He stopped himself dead in the middle of his sentence. Because there, standing right in front of him, _God forbid_ , was _fucking Dude_. From the Target store. He was literally standing right there. And he seemed to be sizing Bart up too.

Oh God. He was going to get his ass kicked, wasn't he?

It didn't take Bart long to put two and two together. As he looked to the little girl, then back at Dude. Then back to the little girl and back to Dude. Finally, he turned to look at the half eaten chocolates on the front bench.

Bart wiped the chocolate stains from his mouth onto his sleeve and turned in almost a horror-movie fashion back towards Dude. He put on his best innocent grin and made finger guns towards him, laughing nervously.

"I don't like being called cute." Dudette called out solemnly, "I once killed my goldfish by flushing him down the toilet with the dirty water when I was trying to clean his tank. That's not cute. That's just torture."

"Hi." Dude said awkwardly.

"Hey." Bart returned in an equally as awkward manner.

The three of them just stood there like that for what felt like it could've been hours but probably wasn't. Dude fiddled with his fingers awkwardly. Bart shivered in the cold, October night.

Dudette finally rolled her eyes. "Are you going to give me my candy or not?" she sighed in a bored manner.

Bart's jaw dropped for the second time that day. He began to stutter. Dude snickered.

"Nice one, _hermana_." he chortled.

"Y-you're just as bad as your brother!" Bart exclaimed. This time, it was Dude's turn to be taken aback. He jumped to his own defence pretty quickly.

" _Qué?_ I let you have the fuc- _freaking_ candy and that's how you're going to play this?" he gasped in horror, letting the Halloween spirit take control of his soul for a moment.

"I'm sorry, what was that? I couldn't hear you over the sound of my _Esophagus rupturing._ "

"Okay, you know what-"

" _Candy?_ " Dudette whined.

Bart stormed over to the bag, grabbed a handful of Reese's Pieces and chucked them over towards her. He stormed back over to Dude and poked him hard in the center of his chest.

"You are the reason that I'm an antisocial Cheeto Puff who stays in his room and plays video games all day!" he exclaimed.

"What does that even have to do with me?" Dude cried out in frustration.

"You make me afraid to go outside because the threat of the contents of my stomach bubbling back up into the tube in my chest is always lurking."

"Dude, I didn't even hit you that hard!" he exclaimed.

"Hey!" Bart huffed, "You can't call me dude. You're Dude."

Dude rolled his eyes.

There was an ear piercing scream. Both boys yelped suddenly as their hands jumped up to their ears. This noise had to be the worst noise in the world. It sounded like somebody was dying when, in fact, it was just Dudette who had decided to throw the Biggest Temper Tantrum Ever™ at Bart's doorstep for not having received her candy.

"Jesus! _Jesus!_ Just take the bag, alright?" Bart cried over her screaming, throwing the entire bag of chocolates at her feet. Four dollars and ninety-nine cents down the drain. She stopped crying as soon as she saw the bag. She instead let out the biggest grin and leaned down to open an unopened package of _Snickers_ , Bart's _favourite_.

Dude smiled in that annoying, satisfied way that makes you want to punch somebody. Dudette munched happily on her chocolate.

"Well then," Bart muttered, "It's a happy ending for everyone."

"Except you." Dude teased, sticking out his tongue.

Bart rolled his eyes and stuck out his hand instead. "Let's call a truce." he announced. Dude raised an eyebrow, but reached out and shook his hand anyways. For a second, Bart felt like he was floating again. The feeling lasted a bit longer this time around.

"I guess I ended up getting the candy anyways." he observed, an annoying hint of a smile still present on his face.

"Guess you did, Dude." Bart admitted begrudgingly.

Dude rolled his eyes. "My name's not Dude."

"Sure it is." Bart responded.

"It's Jaime."

" _Heimy?_ "

" _Jaime_. The 'J' is pronounced as-You know what? Close enough." Dude (the self-proclaimed "Jaime") sighed in defeat. Bart nodded his head.

"Right. And what's the little demon's name?"

"I don't know your name." Jaime grinned.

"Hardy-har." Bart stuck out his tongue. "It's Bart.'

"Her name is Milagro." Jaime said, motioning over to where Milagro was now happily consuming all of the remainder of Bart's candy. Bart mumbled something about how demon children were a plague to the entirety of the Universe and it would be better to be rid of them before shaking his head and sighing.

"Not cute." he agreed with her previous comment, "Not cute _at all._ "

"And you don't even have to live with her." Jaime and Bart shuddered in unison at that particular comment made by the former.

"My condolences." Bart extended his sympathies towards the young man. Jaime grinned.

"You know who is pretty cute, though?" he asked.

"Zac Efron?"

"You." Jaime answered his own question, shutting down Bart's theory that Zac Efron was truly a God and _wait did he just get called cute?_

Bart bristled. "Say what?"

Jaime grinned. "Well, since we've officially run you out of your candy supply and you're not doing anything else tonight since you're an antisocial Cheeto Puff who stays in his room and plays video games all day-"

"Jesus." Bart groaned in mortification.

"-why don't you come out Trick or Treating with us? We can show you how to interact with human beings since you are clearly lacking in that area. That and maybe I can convince you to stick around for a second date."

Bart paused and thought the offer over. It did seem like a cool idea. And he didn't have anything else planned for the evening other than curling up into a ball and crying over this terrible loss after such a great victory at the nearby Target.

He thought about all of these things, but what he said was;

"I don't know…"

"I'll let you have some of your chocolates."

"Lemme' grab my coat." Bart rushed off to the nearest coat hanger. Jaime laughed, leaning against the door frame. Bart grabbed the house keys and called out to Jay and Joan that he was going out before remembering that Jay and Joan were also out at a Halloween party and that was the whole entire reason he had grabbed his keys _in the first place-_

"You coming?" Jaime, bless him, interrupted his train of thought. Bart grinned.

"For you? Always." he responded. Jaime rolled his eyes, snickering all the while.

Bart smiled softly, cheeks flushing because, hey, the guy was not too shabby himself, before shutting the door and locking it into place. Milagro insisted this stranger hold her hand and as she began to drag Bart along, he reached back and intertwined Jaime's fingers within his own. They locked eyes and smiled softly as both their cheeks turned red.

It was probably because of the cold.

Their conversation could still be heard as they walked away from Bart's front porch and towards the next house.

"I didn't think you'd actually bring your demon sister to my house."

"Told you she was a force to be trifled with."

"You weren't lying."

"Did your cousin's girlfriend's niece really disappear on you?"

"I swear to God she'll be receiving a letter of recruitment from the Magician's Council in the next few weeks and she's only four months old…

 _-_ EmbraceSadness _(like, hug her and make her feel better, from Inside Out? Why do people always think I'm depressed lol...)_


	4. Losing Myself And Him In The Process

Lying in a hospital bed...was never a fun experience.

The saddest part about dying, he figured, was that he could feel himself slipping away. Bart was sitting right next to him, holding onto him so tightly that Jaime was honestly afraid he was going to drag the boy away with him.

He could barely handle the thought of leaving him. It's was just too hard to think about. And if he felt this way, he didn't even want to imagine how Bart was feeling. Jaime felt a tear trickling down his cheek. He didn't bother trying to stop it.

As though he could suck his tears back up into his eyeballs.

How could he have such weird thoughts as he was dying? As he was bleeding out from his stomach where a bullet was lodged and refused to budge?

Like…

"Did I remember to turn off the light in my room today?"

" _What?_ " Bart questioned in a pained voice, clearly confused.

 _ **Negative, Jaime Reyes.**_

Jaime chuckled. Good old Khaji Da, the all knowing scarab attached to his back. Jaime was definitely dragging his old friend away with him, that was for sure.

For some reason, it' was at this very moment that the tears came flowing out. Jaime began full on sobbing. He hadn't cried like this since he was four and his sister killed his goldfish by accidentally flushing it down the toilet.

Did that mean the fish technically drowned?

 _ **Negative, Jaime Reyes.**_

But, Jaime _really_ doesn't want to die. For many reasons, actually. He would never get to say goodbye to his mother or father, for one. His poor little sister. She had a song recital tomorrow night he had to be there for. He couldn't die. Not yet. Not before that.

And he'd promised Gar he'd train with him tomorrow as well, hadn't he? Yeah, that was right. He, Gar and Lagoon Boy were all going to spar then order in a large pizza and give half of it to the person who'd won the most battles.

He had to get that damned pizza. He couldn't die before then.

And what if he never became a dentist? That would probably be the worst! Especially after…after all of that...that schooling he'd gone through. Just to get to the point he was currently at in his life.

The funny thing about death was that Jaime could come up with a hundred million reasons to stay and death would still take him anyways. There was no mercy in a brutal end. Just a sort of...relief. And fear. A mercy, maybe, for those tortured souls you read about in the news sometimes. Those who spend their entire lives suffering.

But Jaime couldn't say that was what this was to him. Because it just wasn't.

And, throughout all of the fog. All of the mist. All of the warnings Khaji Da was giving him about how dangerously low his vitals were and how careless it was of him to not move out of the way of this fatal shot. Throughout all of his crazed thoughts about goldfish and how much his mother was going to cry over this one…

There was Bart, still gripping on to his hand so tight that it was as though he wasn't going to let it drag Jaime away.

He hadn't noticed it before but Bart was shaking. Everywhere. His entire body shook like a leaf in the cool, October wind. Jaime breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth. He mustered up the strength to open his eyes wide enough to take in every part of his boyfriend. To study every single beautiful part of him.

This soldier from another time that literally fought for his life for the majority of the time that he had been alive. This beautiful person who had lost or sacrificed everybody he had ever cared about and who probably couldn't handle losing anybody else.

But here Jaime was, providing him with another loss.

And that just sucked more than anything he'd already named.

"Bart." he managed out, shutting his eyes because the weight of his lids suddenly became too much to bear, "I'm...sorry. I'm such an idiot."

"Shut up."

"I'm serious. I don't want this to be one of those stupid, cliché dying scenes like you see in the movies...but I really do want you to know I love…"

His words were beginning to jumble around in his head. He tried to focus on what he wanted to say, but he couldn't remember where he'd last left off his sentence and what was supposed to come next.

"I…" he struggled, his face scrunching up in a grimace, "I don't…"

"It's okay." Bart's shaky voice filled the void of confusion Jaime was floating in, giving him something plausible to focus on, "I already know."

Although Jaime was already crying, he felt something else wet drop onto his cheek that he knew definitely wasn't one of his tears. It didn't feel like a kiss either. That meant that he had made his boyfriend cry and god dammit if that wasn't the worst feeling in the world.

Jaime realized that this was the only time he'd ever witnessed or at least felt Bart crying. His tears tasted salty.

All tears taste salty, you dumb motherf…

Darkness began to lick at the edges of his consciousness. And that was such a cheesy thing to say, but honestly? Death was _not_ like they made it out to be in the movies. It wasn't a slow "fade out to black."

One minute Jaime was there, the next he was not.

He felt Bart's breathing on the side of his neck.

And then he felt nothing at all.

* * *

The monotone beeping of his heartbeat was what woke him up. The sound of Bart's as he lay next to Jaime, his chest next to the older boys ear, was what made him stay.

Jaime held Bart close and thanked whatever God was up there that he had been giving a second chance at life. Both their hearts beating was all they needed in that moment.

"I love you." Jaime finally got to say, "So much."

"I thought I lost you."

"You didn't. And you never will."

"...Just for the record, though, you're still an idiot."

Jaime heard his heartbeat pick up on the monitor at the expense of his own laughter and had to admit it was one of the greatest sounds he had ever heard.


	5. What The Past Defines In Us

_**Bart Allen. Vital signs show that your heart rate has increased tenfold since arriving within the Velocity's vicinity. Suggested course of action: Eliminate him.**_

"Khaji, for the _millionth_ time, we aren't eliminating anybody. Honestly. You suggested vaporizing grandma Iris today just because she didn't fry the pancakes to look like little seals!"

 _ **The Iris shows no concern or regard for the Bart Allen's need for seal-shaped, battered nutritional contents.**_

"No comment." Bart sighed, walking up to Jaime's front door and ringing the bell. There was a beat of silence from the alien-thank _God_ -and also within Bart's mind. He had to admit, he was nervous coming here. He was always nervous coming here, though.

Mostly because Jaime was here.

Not that he had a...crush on Jaime or anything. That would be stupid. And dumb. And it wasn't like the older boy could ever like him back.

 _ **This scarab's highest functioning and priority depends on reasoning and logical problem solving skills. The Bart Allen's insistence on completing this task is inane.**_

"Are you upset that I'm doing your job for you in doubting every single one of my decisions made in life?" Bart snickered to himself, then looked around to see if anybody had bore witness to his absolute insanity.

 _ **Kill the Jaime Reyes.**_

Bart sighed in defeat. Then again, he should have expected this from the alien on his back. He was pretty much used to the weird looks and raised eyebrows his ramblings received. And having Khaji Da as a partner-for-life was just normal to him now, even if it was a constant reminder of what Bart had gone through in his life up until that point.

It was sort of funny the way things worked out sometimes. Bart remembered how much he despised the Blue Beetle and his cold, harsh demeanor. How much he hated being a slave to a regime that treated humans like corpses or-even worse-sacks of meat.

And he remembered vowing to kill the monster that had taken so much away from him and his people.

Then the day he arrived in the past to finally find and kill the Blue Beetle he became what he had sworn to destroy.

There was an explosion by a building where the Scarab was located according to the directions he had been following on his tracking device. One minute he was walking towards the building, the next there was a huge explosion, heat and this awful burning pain in his back.

Then everything went dark.

Bart woke up back at his grandfather's and grandmother's, tucked into bed with a bowl of soup laying next to him. Nothing seemed to make much sense at first. Then he realized what was on his back and slowly put everything together.

Honestly, Bart had no idea who the Blue Beetle of the future was. He didn't know if the REACH eventually killed him off and replaced the source material with another or if he truly had despised himself all of those years.

He tried not to think about it.

Still, living with Khaji Da seemed impossible at times. Especially when the damn thing tried taking over constantly at first. However, after a while, the two had both simmered down and seemed to have set some simple ground rules. It was easier to deal with it that way. For the both of them.

The door finally opened and Bart grinned as soon as Jaime came into view.

"What's up, _her-ma-no?_ " he laughed, winking over at the latino boy and then realizing what a stupid thing that was to do, _why had he done that?_

"Your pronunciation is truly something to be marveled at, _esé._ " Jaime chuckled, a small smile plastered onto his face. Bart smiled even wider if that was even possible and Jaime tilted his head to the side, motioning for Bart to come in.

"You entering or no?"

 _ **Do not trust the Jaime Reyes. He plots to terminate you. Eliminate him at once.**_

"No!" Bart hissed at the scarab. Jaime's eyes twinkled with confusion. Bart shook his head almost immediately, blushing.

"No! Not yet." he covered, "I have to take my shoes off first."

Jaime looked down and nodded. "Yeah, good call. _Mi mama_ would freak if I got dirt all over the house."

"Aren't you running in here at lightning speeds all the time, though?" Bart questioned, kicking off his shoes and entering the house. Jaime bristled and motioned to Bart to keep it down.

"Dude!" he exclaimed, "What if _mi familia_ was home? They would've heard you!" He looked around and sighed. "Besides," he continued, "I run to your grandfather's house if I need...anything."

"Geez." Bart laughed, "No need to be so secretive!"

 _ **The Jaime Reyes' heartbeat is irregular. Possible reasoning for this anomaly is that he is plotting to kill you. Suggested tactic: Destroy him before he can.**_

"On second thought." Bart spoke aloud, "Maybe some things are best kept secret in your head."

Jaime scoffed. "Duh." He wolfed down about four packages of Chicken Whizees at an incredibly fast pace right before Bart's eyes. The boy smiled.

Jaime had been normal before Bart had come back and all of this stuff had gone down. Sadly, after arriving on earth, the REACH began taking in human prisoners and experimenting on them like there was no tomorrow. They took runaways; people that nobody would end up looking for in the end. Somebody who could just...disappear.

People like Jaime's best friend, Tye, who just so happened to disappear whilst all of this was happening. Jaime, catching wind of what was going down, decided to go on a wild manhunt to find what had happened to his friend. He stuck his nose too deep into somebody else's business and ended up getting himself captured in the end as well.

They awakened his metagene, thus gifting him the power of superspeed. Jaime was one of their majorly successful guinea pigs. Tye not so much.

But Jaime was one out of two of the most important experiments they had going there.

Bart was the other.

He'd stupidly gotten himself captured after trying to track down the stolen kids himself as well. They quickly noticed who he was and just what was on his back and suddenly they were trying to reboot the scarab in order to get it back on mode.

Bart had never been more terrified in his life.

He and Jaime were stuck in a room together for the majority of their time there. Chained to one another, facing a barren wall. They were even put in pods close together as to not get them mixed up with all of the other "failed" experiments out there.

During this time, Bart and Jaime grew closer than ever. They learnt pretty much everything about each other. Jaime told Bart all about Tye and his family. About how he was terrified of these new powers invested within him. Bart told him about the bleak future ahead of them and having to come to terms with becoming everything you'd ever hated.

They were each other's rock. And Bart could even admit on having a crush on the older boy. Not a big one, though. Just a small one...

Okay, maybe a big one.

Eventually they were rescued by a group of younger heroes known as the "young" justice league. Actually, they didn't really have a name. They were just them. Not like the Justice League, anyways.

A bunch of kid heroes running around saving a bunch of kid screw-ups.

Jaime and Bart were two of the last out since they were kept under maximum security. They'd grown so used to holding each other when things got rough that when these strangers came and tried to separate them they screamed and cried and begged to not be taken away from one another.

They didn't let go of each other. Not even when most of the other runaway kids dispersed. Not even when Jaime went home for the first time after everything had gone down. A member of the Team had had to explain what had happened to his parents. They were very understanding but it was still very difficult to fathom that their son was now so...different.

And then there was also the fact that Bart went with him everywhere. They physically could not be apart.

Therapy eventually undid all the damage inflicted upon them and they could finally go without being with one another constantly, but it was still difficult for both of them to function without seeing the other at least once a week.

Joining the team made it simpler to see one another. Jaime began receiving lessons from Bart's grandfather, Barry, who became his mentor. Just another reason to see the boy. Bart would fly to Jaime's occasionally and Jaime would run to Bart's.

Back and forth across the continent. Just like that.

Bart never would've dreamed that his life would end up as it had. That a person could have that much of an effect on him. But they did. And it was just so incredible.

"Earth to Bart. Heel _lloooooo? Isanybodyhome?_ " Jaime was speeding around him, flailing his arms about. Bart blinked back into the world of living.

"Hello! Yes! I am here! And alive."

Only until the Jaime Reyes deems it acceptable to initiate your destruction.

Bart resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Stupid scarab. Jaime giggled, grabbing a Chicken Whizee and popping it into Bart's mouth.

"You're so cute when you do that." he admitted to Bart, chewing on his own delicious snack. Bart cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh, am I?"

" _Yesindeedyouaremygoodsir."_

"I don't understand speed talk."

Their faces were getting closer and closer to each other.

"No?" Jaime questioned, "Doesn't your grandfather teach you anything?"

And closer.

"Not much." Bart admitted cheekily, "He spends all his time with _you_ after all, the golden child of-"

The space between their lips suddenly disappeared and all Bart was aware of was just how soft and beautiful Jaime really was. He felt the spanish boy vibrating under the pressure of the kiss and Bart smiled into it.

 _ **Warning: Danger detected within the immediate vicinity. The Jaime Reyes is attempting to suffocate this organism.**_

Bart giggled at that. The two finally separated for air. Bart reached up and wiped the little bit of spittle off from his lips. Jaime blinked, staring at him with these wide eyes.

"I don't know why I did that." he admitted softly, still staring at the younger boy in front of him, "I just felt like doing it, I guess."

Bart grinned seductively. "Then feel like doing it again."

Jaime's eyes widened even more. Bart's eyelids shut softly as he approached the speedster and wrapped his hands around his midsection. Jaime laughed and leaned in closer.

"My pleasure."

For some reason, ignoring Khaji Da became a more simpler task than it had ever been.


End file.
